Tell Us How You Really Feel
by mrs.coltondixon
Summary: An alternate ending to when Harry and Ron found Dean and Ginny snogigng behind the tapestry.Harry pours out his entire soul to Ginny. It's a good story for those of you who ship Harry/Ginny. I MIGHT sequel it, if you guys want me too. I had lanned it to be a one shot in the beginning, but I could probably think up a sequel!
1. Chapter 1

Tell Us How You Really Feel

_Damn, I hate him. I just want to rip off his arms, and shove them up his ass. When I saw the two of them making out behind that tapestry, I wanted to yank Ginny out of his arms, and show him what proper snogging looks like. Did I just say that? Wait a minute, what am I doing?! This is Ron's little sister, I can't be thinking about snogging her, or shoving my tongue down her throat, or ripping all her clothes off, seeing what she looks like naked…STOP! Gotta shake this off….._

Harry shook his head like a wet dog. Ron was still fuming, raving and wielding his arms about. Harry and Ron had just seen Ginny and Dean snogging behind a tapestry, and Harry was a little more upset than Ron knew. Harry didn't know he had these kinds of feelings for Ginny. He suddenly remembered back to Potions class. He had smelled some sort of flowery perfume. Now he knew where it came from; it was Ginny. He wanted Ginny with his whole heart, and he was determined to get her.

"Harry?" asked Ron. "Don't you think that's wrong?"

"Absolutely not!" Harry blurted out, without really thinking. "I think you should let it happen!"

"WHAT!?" Bellowed Ron. "How could you even sat that? My baby sister with Dean Thomas?!"

"Huh?" Harry was completely confused. "I'm talking about the atrocity we just witnessed!"

"Oh, that. No, I totally agree with you, it was atrocious."

"Good." Ron eyed him suspiciously. "I thought I had lost you, mate. What were you talking about?"

"Oh, just joking, wanted to see if you were paying attention." Harry and Ron walked back to the dorm in silence. Dean was sitting on the couch; apparently Ginny hadn't met up with him yet, even though she had left before them. Dean saw Ron and his eyes narrowed. He leapt to his feet and strode towards Ron. "It's your fault!" he yelled. "I can't believe you would do this!"

Harry and Ron were completely bewildered. "What the bloody hell are you talking about?" asked Ron.

"Ginny just broke up with me. She said it was because there was no spark, and she was already into someone else, but I know the real reason. She didn't want to have to deal with you breathing down our necks! I hope you're happy!" With those words, Dean turned on his heels and sped up the stairs.

Harry and Ron both reacted different ways. Ron whooped and punched his fist into the air. Harry just stood there for a few seconds, and then he ran back out the portrait hole. Ron was too busy celebrating to notice the status of his best mate's whereabouts.

Harry had raced to the seventh floor, past the tapestry of dancing trolls. Passing by three times, he thought in his head, I need to see Ginny, I need to see Ginny, I need to see Ginny. A door with a lion head knocker appeared in front of him. Harry seized the knocker and knocked three times. The lion opened its mouth and asked, "Password?"

"Holyhead Harpies." he said with confidence. The door swung open, and Harry walked in. Ginny was sitting on a couch, in front of a crackling fire. She was staring at the flames, her back to him. Her hair was a gleaming sheet of copper. "Ginny?" he tentatively said.

Ginny's head whipped up. "Harry?" she questioned. Tears were splashed across her voice, and her voice was thick with emotion. "Ginny!" Harry dropped next to her, and immediately took her face in his hands. "What's wrong? Did Dean hurt you?" he asked, wiping away her tears with his thumbs.

"No, he didn't hurt me, I broke up with him, and how the bloody hell did you know my password?"

Harry smirked. "Please, Ginny, it's been your favorite Quidditch team since I've known you. What else would it be?" Ginny looked up at him, eyes shining. "You know what my favorite team is." She stated it, wondering what else he knew. "What else do you know about me?"

"Well," Harry started slowly, "I know you prefer steak over chicken, your favorite season is winter because of the snow, and you love the wind, because it makes you feel like a brave heroine." Harry tucked a piece of hair behind Ginny's ear as he continued. "You hate wearing heels because they hurt your feet, but you like being tall because you're the shortest in your family. Your eyes always light up when you're learning something new, and they get darker whenever you see someone helpless getting picked on. You want to be a Quidditch player when you grow up, but you don't want your mum to be disappointed in you. You hate the color pink because it's supposed to be a girl's favorite color, and you want to be different from the rest. I don't think I know your favorite color." He frowned to himself. Ginny simply stared fondly at him as he inched closer, holding eye contact. "You don't want people to underestimate your power because of your size; you want to make a difference in this world. You can't help it but stand up for those in need." His last words he whispered softly as his face was only inches away from Ginny's. "When you are passionate about something, you put your whole being into it. You love like no one else can love. You have the purest heart, and that is the most beautiful thing about you." With that said, Harry leaned in the last few millimeters, and kissed her. After he pulled away, Ginny's eyes remained closed, and she whispered, "Green."

"What?" asked Harry, a little worried. Ginny opened her eyes, and smiled. "My favorite color is green." Harry grinned, and Ginny threw her arms around Harry's neck, and pulled his head down for another kiss. After several hours, or possibly several sunlit days, they broke apart again. They simply held each other, looking at the crackling fire. "How long?" asked Ginny. Harry looked down at her. "I'm not sure I follow."

"How long have you been in love with me?" she asked, looking in his eyes for his answer.

"I'm not sure. I've always liked you, but I think I realized I loved you about two or three minutes ago." Ginny smiled, and snuggled deeper in his chest. She whispered four words before she fell asleep. "I love you, too."


	2. Chapter 2

_Due to popular demand, I have decided to continue my original one-shot! I'm really glad you guys like my writing. If you are following my full length story, __**Ready**__, I'm sorry I haven't updated in a week, I lost my flash drive, and I can't find it anywhere! I can always pull it from memory, but it's going to take a while. While I'm here; disclaimer, I do NOT own Harry Potter and its characters. All credit goes to the queen, J.K. Rowling!_

**Our Lips Are Sealed**

Harry and Ginny left the Room of Requirement after having a rather serious discussion about their relationship. They had decided to keep it a secret for two reasons; Dean and Ron. Ginny didn't want it to seem that she had been cheating on Dean with Harry. Harry didn't want Ron to bellow and get red in the face. He had seen how Ron reacted to all of Ginny's other boyfriends.

It took Harry and Ginny twice as long to reach the dorms as usual because they were being so careful. Well, that and they paused to kiss every once and a while. As they finally stumbled into the common room, they fell onto the couches, laughing. Harry pulled Ginny onto his lap, his lips finding her neck. Ginny stopped laughing, and circled her arms around Harry's neck. She tilted her neck back and stared at the ceiling; reveling in the glorious feeling she got from Harry's mouth. She had never experienced anything like this. Ginny reached under Harry's shirt, lightly scraping her fingernails up and down his chest. Harry shivered, and goose bumps spread over his flesh. Ginny's hand traveled south, stopping at the waistband of Harry's pants. She gently stroked Harry's happy trail. Harry was now sucking and biting at an extremely sensitively spot on her neck. Harry was moving lower and lower, reaching her collarbone. Ginny gasped, and wanted so bad to pull Harry's lips to hers, but they were interrupted by the swinging open of the portrait. Ginny and Harry both whipped their heads toward the opening in horror. Harry panicked and whipped on his Invisibility Cloak, causing Ginny to get thrown onto the floor. She glared up at the now invisible Harry, as Hermione and Ron climbed through the hole.

"Ginny?" Ginny looked up to see Hermione and Ron standing over her, with puzzled looks on their faces. "What are you doing on the floor? And why weren't you at dinner?" asked Hermione.

"Oh, well, I didn't go to dinner because I didn't want to run into Dean. As for why I'm on the floor, um, well, I was sitting on the couch, thinking when I got so lost in thought, I fell off the couch." She looked at the two of them to see if they bought it. Ron wasn't really listening after she mentioned Dean. He was too busy grinning. Hermione was looking suspicious, and she glanced at the couch, where Ginny had been glaring when they came in. She saw that there was an impression in the smooth, red velvet cushion. Her eyes widened as she realized that someone was sitting invisibly on the couch. And who owned an Invisibility Cloak? Harry. Ginny violently motioned at Hermione not to say anything.

More people had started to come in, including Dean. Ginny jumped up from the floor and rushed up the stairs to her room, mumbling something about her stomach not feeling well. Hermione noticed the impression in the couch was gone. She turned to Ron, who was now having a few choice words with Dean. He had a confused look on her face.

"I didn't tell her to break up with you!" said Ron. "Please, you think if I had anything to do with this? Ginny would have hexed my bits off!"

"If you didn't break us apart, then why did she dump me?" demanded Dean.

"Do you think maybe Ginny was telling the truth?" Hermione softly asked. Both Dean and Ron turned to her. "B-but- Ginny said there was nothing going on between us! And she was into someone else!"

"Yeah!" continued Ron. "They were snogging all over the place! How do you call that nothing?"

"We were not all over the place! We were in deserted corridors! And that's not important! Who else is she into?" Hermione quietly left the two to argue. She walked up the stairs to the bathroom, where she heard whispering.

"What do you mean, Hermione knows?!"

"She saw you sitting on the couch, and she put two and two together! I can't help it if she's a bloody genius!"

"Well, what are we going to do?" It was quiet for a moment. It was at that time Hermione decided to make her entrance.

"If you tell her what exactly what is going on, she might be able to keep it a secret." Hermione called through the door. "Oh, shit!" she heard. The door swung open, and she was pulled inside.

Hermione stumbled in, smirking. "So," she smiled, "are you two dating now?" Harry opened his mouth, but stopped and began to laugh. "Guessed it in one." He shrugged, and threw his arms around Ginny, kissing her neck. "Please don't tell anyone?" begged Ginny. "We don't really want to tell anyone yet."

"Don't worry." Hermione assured her. "Your secret is safe with me."


	3. Chapter 3

Ok, so obviously I have to continue, because I kinda left you guys hanging there. A little shout out to Cartman1701, I know that I had decided to keep it a secret, I probably should have mentioned that it was during dinner, and no one was there. It was in the rough draft, but it accidentally didn't make the final. My bad! Thanx for catching it, though.

**Somebody To Love**

Ginny lay awake in bed that night, thinking about what had happened in the past few hours. She touched her lips, still feeling the tingling sensation that Harry had left behind with his kisses. She softly giggled, remembering how his hands would creep up his back as he kissed her, rubbing up and down her back. She closed her eyes, imagining Harry was there with her now. She could feel his hands, his lips, even his nose, touching hers. Ginny started to move her lips, until she realized where she was. Feeling silly, she rolled over, and drifted off to sleep.

In her dream, Ginny was in a dark room. The stone floors were covered in puddles, and the walls were covered in green moss. Large marble snake statues loomed over her, casting shadows over her head. She recognized her surroundings and immediately dropped to the floor, hyperventilating. A new shadow dropped into Ginny's view.

"Hello, Ginevra." A cold voice sent waves a terror through her body. "No, Tom, y-you-you-can't be here! Harry got rid of you!"

"Obviously not." Riddle said, amused. "I'm still here." He smiled cruelly as the blood drained from Ginny's face.

"No!" screamed Ginny. "Harry beat you! You're not real, you're not real! HARRY! PLEASE! Help me! HARRY!"

"Potter can't hear you! He won't be able to save you!" Riddle leered at her. He waved his wand, immobilizing her to the wall. With another wave, her clothes were all gone. Ginny's mouth opened to scream, but no sound came out. She was crying hard, her cheat heaving, completely terrified about what was happening to her. Riddle came closer and closer.

_Harry,_ she thought, _please come and save me. Please. _

She woke up with a start, shivering, and sweating as well. She twisted the bed sheets in her hands, trying to wring the memory of the nightmare out of her head. She slowly pulled back the curtains of her four poster bed, swung her feet over the side, and dragged herself to the common room. There she sat on the couch, wrapping her arms around her legs, dropping her chin on her knees. She silently cried, the tears rolling down her face and falling onto the velvety cushions. She wished Harry was there to comfort her.

Up in the boys' dorms, Harry also jolted out of a dream. In his dream, he had been reenacting, except in this dream, things had well, gotten more intense. He looked down at his pants and groaned at the hard on he was getting. Throwing back the sheets, he left the dorm room, and walked down the stairs to the common room. He was surprised to see that someone else was there, sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace. He recognized the sheet of coppery hair as Ginny's.

"Gin?" he cautiously asked. Ginny looked up, and Harry saw the dried tears on her face. "Gin!" he exclaimed, dropping to the floor. "How-Wh-what" he just pulled her into her arms. Ginny broke into fresh tears, clutching at his shoulders and dry-heaving into his bare chest. Harry tightened his arms around his love, and felt a burst of anger towards who did this to her. He suddenly pulled her back by her shoulders.

"What happened?" he demanded angrily. "Who did this to you?"

"Tom Riddle." Ginny managed to choke out. Harry's face paled. "What?" he whispered. Ginny held his gaze for a moment until she broke it, sobbing even more. With tears still leaking from her eyes, she relayed back her dream to Harry. Harry's hard features soon relaxed. He pulled Ginny back into his arms, whispering soothing words in her ear. Ginny's sobs faded to soft gasps, as she molded herself to Harry. She looked up at his face; he was anxiously waiting for her let him know she was ok. She sighed, and pulled his face down for a kiss. He responded by kissing her back. He licked the bottom of her lip, asking for permission. She obliged enthusiastically, throwing her arms around his neck. Ginny wrapped her tongue around Harry's, enjoying the taste of him in her mouth. Harry's hands traveled downward until they rested on her waist. His fingers danced along her waistline, brushing her soft velvety skin. Ginny wormed closer to Harry's body, lurching up onto her haunches. Harry was surprised, and tried to catch himself, but he failed, and fell backwards onto the floor.

There seemed to be a hunger growing between them. They were all over each other, but yet, they seemed to want more. Ginny's tank top was shoved upward, and her bare skin rubbed against Harry's. Their tongues twisted around each other, and the two lovers were soon panting for breath. Harry looked into Ginny's eyes, which were no longer red with tears; they were burning with passion.

"I love you." Harry said softly, Ginny sighed, and closed her eyes saying, "I love you, too." Harry grinned.

"I never get tired of hearing that." He said.

"Me neither." responded Ginny. Ginny rested her chin on Harry's bare chest. "How much longer do we have to keep this secret? It's going to be so hard keeping my hands off of you." She said, as she trailed her fingers up and down his torso.

"Oh, bloody hell." Harry groaned. "I don't know, a few weeks, maybe a month?"

"A month?!" Ginny screeched. "Sh!" Harry threw a look to the staircase. When no one came down, Harry turned his attention back to girl lying on his chest. "Gin, if we show up at breakfast tomorrow hanging all over each other, people will to think that you had been cheating on Dean. No one bounces back this fast."

"Not even if I had been in love with you while I was still with him?"

"Yes even then, I- wait a minute, how long have you been in love me?" Ginny pretended to ponder this for a moment.

"Hmmm…let's see, I'm fifteen, so that would be." She added the numbers in her head. "That would be about five years."

"Five years?! But-but that's how long you've known me!"

"Exactly. As soon as I saw you on the platform, I knew I was falling hard. Of course, I had always had a crush ever since I heard your story." Harry frowned. There was still one thing that was bothering him. "Then why did you go out with Michael and Dean?"

"Well," Ginny explained, "I never thought you would look at me as nothing else than Ron's little sister. Later on, you were so into Cho, I figured that there was no way you'd ever be mine. I went to Hermione for advice, and she told me if I dated other people, I might get over you. Obviously I never did." Ginny nervously smiled. Harry stared at her incredulously.

"Let me get one thing straight here." Harry said sternly. Ginny cowered a bit under his gaze. Harry's eyes softened as he said, "I love you so much that no one else exists. I will never give you up, you will always be mine." Harry's words brought tears to Ginny's eyes. She shoved her lips onto his, molding her body to his. "I love you so much." Ginny moaned into his mouth.

The two of them were so caught up in each other's love for one another, that they didn't notice that they had an audience of one. A pair of dark, angry eyes burned with rage. Dean Thomas was not happy…..

_To be continued…_

A/N Hahahahaha! I left you all with a cliffie! Oohhh, this is gonna be good! Please review! And to those of you who are catching all the little things, thank you! I am taking it as critique, and I'm very grateful!


	4. Chapter 4

_Ok, so you all know how originally this was going to be a one shot, and I wasn't sure if I should keep going? Well, I seem to have dug myself into a story that I'm having trouble finding an ending for. But, no worries, I am working as hard as I can. I always finish what I start! On with the story!_

**Out Here in the Open**

Dean walked back to his bed, shaking in anger. No wonder Ginny broke up with him! She had been in love with Harry the whole time! He had just heard the words straight from Ginny's mouth! He needed to get revenge. Not on Harry, no it wasn't his fault Ginny was a slobbering lovesick fool. He needed a way to make Ginny seem undesirable. His head suddenly picked up, for he knew now what he had to do. He would out them as a couple. He had seen how Ron had looked at them while they were dating, he was no idiot, and Ron hated him for it.

He snuck into the Fifth Years' room, more precisely, to Creevey's bed. He snagged the camera from atop Colin's dresser and made his way quietly back to the common right. To his disgust, they were still making out on the floor. Harry was getting a little suggestive, making his way under her shirt, and stroking a certain part of Ginny's anatomy. Taking out his wand, Dean set a silencing charm on the camera, aimed it at the two ravishing each other on the rug, and snapped the picture.

The next morning, Harry sat at the breakfast table with Ron, anxious for Ginny to come in. Every time someone through the doors of the Great Hall, his head would shoot up, then slump in disappointment when it wasn't Ginny. Ron was watching with half amusement and half confusion. "What is your problem, mate? Are you expecting the ruddy Queen of England to walk through?"

"Uh, no." Harry dumbly responded. "Just waiting for the girls to get here."

"Well, here they are now." Ron pointed out. "When they reach our table, are you going to scream it from the castle rooftop?" Harry's face burned red as Hermione and Ginny sat down across from them. Ginny subtly winked at Harry from across the table. Harry's face burned even redder.

"What's wrong with Harry?" Ginny cheekily asked. "He looks as though he could be a Weasley!"

"I don't know." Ron shrugged. "I'll tell you one thing, though; he was awfully excited to see you two come in!"

"Oh really?" Ginny raised an eyebrow. "Why?" Harry shrugged. "I guess I'm just really happy to see my friends. I was in a really good mood when I woke up this morning." He sent his own subtle wink to Ginny and it was her turn to blush. Since the girls had joined them, Ron decided to start eating breakfast. Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron's atrocious manners, and Ginny and Harry laughed at Hermione's reaction.

Dean was watching from further down the table. Unlike Ron and everyone else in the Great Hall, he had seen both subtle winks. The reason was that he was watching for it. He knew of their love for each other and it made his blood boil. He wanted revenge for Ginny's unfaithfulness, and he was going to get it. The picture he had taken last night had been sent off to the Daily Prophet. He attached a note saying he wanted none other than Rita Skeeter to write the article. Dean knew that Rita had a personal interest in Harry, so he knew she would pounce in the chance to write a piece on Harry.

Dean stared at the laughing group of friends down the table, glared down at his plate, and gripped his fork tightly in his hand.

"What's wrong with you, mate?" asked Seamus. "Nothing, really." Dean responded. "I'm just looking forward to the morning post." He ignored the quizzical look Seamus was giving him, and glanced up at the ceiling. An evil grin appeared on his face as countless owls flew over the heads of the students. As the birds began to land, and people unfurled their Daily Prophet, the whispering started.

"Seriously, Hermione?" Ron protested. "You're still getting that rag?"

"Yes, Ronald, because it's still nice to know what's going on in the world! Whether it's true or not!" She ripped open her copy, and then paled as she saw the front page. "Hermione?" asked Ginny "What's wrong, is someone we know dead?" Harry and Ron's heads snapped up, waiting to hear the bad news.

"No, not exactly." Hermione said weakly. "He might be dead soon, though." Everyone was completely confused. Ginny peered over her shoulder, and started to stutter. "Wh-what-h-how did someone-get this?!"

"I don't know!" wailed Hermione.

"What is going on?" bellowed Harry. Ginny thrust the paper to him across the table, he snatched it up, read it, and had a completely different reaction. He slammed his forehead down on the table. Ron was grinning at his friends and their reactions. "How bad could this possibly be?" He extracted the paper Harry had sandwiched between his arms. "NO!" Hermione and Ginny screamed, diving across the table, trying to grab the paper back. But alas, their efforts were in vain, because Ron had already seen the image splashed across the front page.

There was Harry and Ginny, lying on the floor, completely wrapped up in each other's arms, snogging each other's heads off. Ginny was on top of Harry, her hands tangled his hair, pulling him closer to her. Harry's hands were creeping into Ginny's tank top, his fingers probing her sides. Ginny's hair fell like a curtain in front of them, but Harry's hand swept it away and tangled it in his hand. It was an adorable kiss. You could definitely tell that the two of them were in love, but that didn't matter to Ron. The fact that a picture of his sister and his best mate making out was on the front page of the Daily Prophet was absolutely appalling.

Ron's face was so red, it made the world's worst sunburn look pastel in comparison. His brow furrowed deep down to his nose. His fingers clenched the paper so hard it began to rip. Ginny and Hermione held their breath, waiting for the explosion to happen. Harry's head was still on the table, not caring that Ron now held the paper. His life was over, he knew it. Ron was going to kill him, wait, no, he was going to torture him to insanity, and then let the rest of the Weasley family kill him. He too, was waiting for Ron to leash out at him, to scream and yell and accuse him of betrayal.

The rage that Ron had inside of him was boiling over, threatening to spill. He looked up from the paper to see Hermione hiding behind her hands. Ginny was coaxing Harry to look at her. She held his hand, stroking it with her thumb. Harry slowly raised his head, gazing into her eyes. Ron could see the love Ginny had for his best friend in her eyes. Ginny stroked Harry's face, saying nothing, simply looking at him. Ron's anger slowly faded to a dull irritation. He glanced up at Hermione. She was giving him a pleading look, asking her with her eyes to understand and forgive. Ron blew some air out of the corner of his mouth. He was about to make a really stupid decision.

Meanwhile, Harry's world had plummeted south. He had gotten the girl of dreams, kissed the girl of his dreams, and then been found out, all within twenty-four hours. He just couldn't catch a break. He was contemplating his last dying wish would be, when Ginny lifted his head with her hands. She gazed at him with such an intense burning passion, that he could only stare back. He heard Ron clear his throat, and Harry turned his head to face the music.

"Well," Ron began, "I don't really know how this happened, or how Skeeter got her hands on this photo, but can I ask one thing?" Harry and Ginny nodded. "Was Ginny already broken up with Dean when this happened?" he gestured to the newspaper.

Ginny's face broke into a smile. Harry let his head slump back onto the table in relief, and Hermione simply sighed and shook her head. "Yes." Ginny said, beaming. "It actually happened last night."

"Last night?" inquired Hermione. "How did Skeeter get it so fast?"

"I'm not sure." came Harry's muffled reply. "But we're going to find out." He lifted his head and scanned the room. Students and staff alike were all reading the Prophet, and peering over at him and Ginny. Harry then noticed that only one person wasn't goggling at them with accusing eyes. Dean was casually eating his breakfast, his copy of the Daily Prophet still tied with a string lying beside his plate of bacon and eggs. How could Dean be so calm about this right now? Harry didn't believe that he hadn't seen it, because Seamus was shoving it right in front of his face, waiting for him to react. Dean gave it a glance, shrugged, and went back to his food. Now that was interesting.

"Hey, Ron?" asked Harry, "If your girlfriend had just dumped you, and then you wake up to find out she's moved on? And you had to find out by reading it in a newspaper?" Ron blushed red, his eyes slightly shifting across the table. Hermione noticed this, and her cheeks tinged pink. "Well, I'd be pretty upset."

"How upset?" asked Harry.

"So upset, I'd want to find the guy she's moved on with and rip out his throat." Ron admitted. Harry stared intently at Ron, shifted his eyes over to dean, and then raised an eyebrow at Ron, hoping he would catch on. Ron slowly began to piece it all together. "That bastard!" Ron hissed. "He's the one who sold the story to Rita!"

"Who?!" Hermione and Ginny dropped their heads down to hear what Ron had finally discovered. "Dean effing Thomas!" Ron said through gritted teeth. "What?!" screeched Ginny.

"Ginny! Keep your voice down!" hissed Hermione. "People are already staring!" Ginny gripped a piece of French bread in her hands, wringing it until broke in two.

"Imagining that bread is Dean's neck?" Harry grinned.

"Yes." Ginny growled. "He's an asshole. How did he even get that picture? We were alone!"

"Obviously not that alone." Ron sniggered. Hermione smacked him across the chest. "Not really helping the situation, Ronald!"

"Where did he get a camera?" asked Ginny. "The only person in Gryffindor that I know who has a camera is Collin!"

"Hey, guys!" came a cheerful voice over their shoulders. Colin Creevey was just now coming to breakfast. "Hey, Colin." Harry said cautiously. "You see this morning's prophet yet?"

"No, I don't read that rag anymore. Ever since Rita Skeeter slung around all those stupid lies a couple years ago, I haven't really been interested in reading what she has to say."

Colin seemed to have said the right thing, because everyone there grabbed him and pulled him down onto their bench. Harry shoved the paper into Colin's arms, and Colin's eyes bugged out of his head. "What-who-how did this happen?!"

"We're pretty sure it was Dean, and we're pretty sure he did it last night, but what we're not sure of is how he got the camera." Harry prodded.

"And you guys think that he maybe snuck up to my room, stolen the camera, taken the picture-"

"And then sent it off the Rita wanting revenge." finished Ron. "Yep, that's exactly what we think." The group sat silently for a while, wondering what to do next.

"Well, I think we should just pound the little bastard!" Ron exclaimed. "He did a horrible thing to Harry and Ginny, and he needs to be punished!"

"That would just be sinking to his level!" Hermione protested "If we get back at him, this whole revenge thing is never going to end!"

"Hermione, we can't just let him get away with this!" wailed Ginny.

"I'm aware of that, Ginny. We can't get him back." She paused. "At least not in public." Evil smiles slowly unfurled on everyone's faces. They all shifted glances over to Dean.

On the outside Dean was cool and nonchalant; not caring if Harry and Ginny found out it was him. On the inside however, he was a nervous wreck. When Seamus showed him the paper, he wanted it to seem like it wasn't going to ruin his day. Dean chanced a look up and saw his fellow Gryffindors maliciously grinning at him. _Oh dear God._ Dean thought. _I'm a dead man._ He jumped up from his seat, upsetting his breakfast, and ran out of the Great Hall.

"Hmmmm…" Harry thought out loud. "Maybe we don't have to DO anything at all."

Quizzical looks were shared all around. "What are you talking about?" asked Ginny.

"Dean seems like he's waiting for us to do something to him, hell, he's friggin paranoid! All we have to do is to be overly friendly, and he will constantly be in fear of when our 'revenge' is going to set in!"

"Harry, you're a genius!" Ginny threw her arms around Harry's neck and kissed him. Wolf calls were heard all around the Great Hall.

"Alright, Potter!"

"Took you two long enough!"

"Finally hooked him, Gin!"

Harry and Ginny both blushed. "See," Harry said softly. "I told you we were perfect together."

Ginny responded by kissing him again.


	5. Chapter 5

_I've gotten a lot of good feedback, and some awesome critique as well. Thank you guys so much for all your words. An idea hit me last night right as I was drifting off to sleep. It's not entirely original, but I love putting twists on things. Hope you guys like it._

**He Likes His Nerves, Shaken, Not Stirred**

It was two days after what everyone called, "The Incident." The embarrassment had worn off, Harry and Ginny were happily in love, and Dean was a nervous wreck. He had been waiting and waiting for the fit to hit the shan. After all, Ginny had six older brothers, one who was a curse breaker at Gringotts, another who trained dragons for a living, and two others who ran a joke shop. Oh yeah, he knew all about Ginny's brothers. They had dated, hadn't they?! He knew he was a dead man.

Harry and Ron were coming down the stairs, laughing and holding their sides. Ron had tears coming from his eyes, and Harry was using his best friend as a crutch. Hermione and Ginny looked up bewildered. "What is going on with you two?!" demanded Hermione. Harry started choking on his laughter. "We were just in the dorm room, and-and…" Harry couldn't finish his sentence. Ron took a breath and tried for himself. "Well," Ron began, "Like Harry said, we were up in the dorm room, and Dean was up there." Hermione and Ginny cracked smiles, knowing what was coming next.

"Anyway, Harry and I were looking for Harry's invisibility cloak. We couldn't find it anywhere, and Dean walked in…."

_"Hey, Ron? Have you seen my cloak? I can't find it anywhere!"_

_ "Which cloak?" Harry rolled his eyes. "The only cloak I own! The one that makes me invisible!"_

_ "Oh! That cloak! No, I haven't seen it. Not since last night when you snuck back in the dorm." Harry reddened. "You noticed, huh?" This time it was Ron's turn to roll his eyes. "Mate, the whole tower noticed!"_

_ "The _whole _tower?" Harry lifted an eyebrow. Ron grinned catching on. They both turned to look at Dean's bed. Dean wasn't currently there; he had made a quick trip to the loo, or so he said. Harry was pretty sure he just wanted an excuse to get out of the room for a few minutes. Harry and Ron put their heads together and came up with a brilliant plan._

_ When Dean finally came back in the room, Harry started flinging the contents of his trunk everywhere. Ron pretended to be annoyed. "Bloody hell, mate! What are you doing!?" he bellowed._

_ "I can't find my invisibility cloak, okay? I've been looking everywhere for it! I can't lose this, mate! It's the only thing left I have of my dad's!"_

_ "Alright, alright! Don't lose your head! We'll find it. Now, when was the last time you had it?"_

_ "Last night. Ginny and I used it to sneak back into the castle." Harry's back was to Dean, so he couldn't see Dean's reaction, but the look on Ron's face assured him it was working. "We managed to get in the common room, but we didn't exactly part ways right away. We hung out on the couch for a while."_

_ "What were you guys doing?" asked Ron sharply. "Erm, talking." The blush on Harry's cheeks was real, as was Ron's tone. Dean's anger was also real, and was very apparent. _

_ "Hey, Dean?" Dean started, and gave a little yelp. "Y-Yeah?"_

_ "Have you seen my cloak?" Harry asked. "Um, no, sorry Harry."_

_ "It's fine. Hey, mate, are you ok? You look like you're on someone's hit list?" Ron bit back a laugh as Harry pretended to be concerned. "I'm fine." Dean stuttered. "I just uh, I'm nervous about West Ham. They're not doing so hot this season."_

_ Harry turned back to Ron. "Anyway, after we um, talked, she said she didn't want to go upstairs, because she was embarrassed about the hickeys on her neck."_

_ "You gave my sister hickeys?! As in plural?!" Ron shouted_

_ "Oh, calm down!" Harry shouted back. "It's not like I was the first one to suck on her neck! Right Dean?" Harry once again turned to the nervous black boy. _

_ "Actually," Dean began, "Ginny never let me kiss her anywhere except her face." _

_ "Oh." Harry said dumbly. He really wasn't expecting this at all. "Anyway, she was embarrassed, so she asked if she could borrow the cloak."_

_ "There we go! Ginny has it! Problem solved! I think I saw her downstairs with Hermione."_

_ "Sweet, I can go get it from her now. Or maybe I'll just get it back from her tonight." Harry's voice faded as the two boys walked out of the dorm. Harry sneaked a glance back at Dean; he was sweating bullets._

"And then we came down to tell you!" Harry howled, wiping tears away from his face. Ron was laughing again, and Ginny now joined in on the laughter. Hermione just grinned, shaking her head. She saw a shadow on the staircase, and threw a pillow at Ron.

"Ow! Bloody hell, Hermione! What was that for?!"

"Shut up, Ronald! Dean's coming down the stairs!" Everyone immediately clammed up. "By the way, do you have my cloak?" Harry asked, just as Dean stepped into the common room. "Yeah, it's up in my room, do you want it back?" Ginny grinned maliciously. "Or should I just wait until tonight to give it back?" She leaned forward to kiss Harry on the lips. Harry grinned back, this was so much fun.

Hermione was glad there were other people in the common room; this would have been WAY more awkward if they were the only ones in there. Ginny was now sitting in Harry's lap, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. Harry had a silly grin on his face, due to the fact that Ginny was now whispering in his ear. Hermione decided to glance over at Dean. He wasn't angry anymore; in fact he wasn't even afraid for his life. He was gazing at Ginny with a longing look on his face, a look of hurt and betrayal. Hermione suddenly felt bad for Dean; even though her friends would shun her if she shared this information. Hermione knew what it felt like to have someone she loved ignore her. Dean caught her eye, and they shared a sympathetic look.

"You guys ready to head down to dinner?" Hermione turned back to her friends. "They should be serving it in about ten minutes." Ron jumped up from the couch, eager to eat. Harry and Ginny remained on the couch, whispering, giggling, and of course, kissing.

"Guys!" Hermione said louder, "It's time for dinner!" The two lovers looked up, finally disentangling themselves from each other. They were rather annoyed with Hermione for interrupting them. Harry sighed. "We might as well go eat. Everyone else is leaving." Sure enough, the common room was practically empty, save for Dean in the corner. Harry stood up and offered his hand to Ginny and as he was about to pull her up, Hermione once again interrupted.

"Actually, Harry, I want to talk to Ginny about something. You know, just girl stuff." She smiled at Harry. "I don't mind." Harry said, sitting back down. "We're together so much I hear about this kind of stuff all the time." Hermione knit her brows together; she needed to talk to Ginny about Dean, but she couldn't do that with Harry sitting right there. She suddenly knew exactly what to say to get rid of Harry. She turned to Ginny and said, "Have you ever used tampons before, Ginny? I hate using pads, because they-"

"Okay! That is my cue to leave!" Harry said, heaving back off the couch. Ginny giggled as she watched her boyfriend leave. "He's so cute when he's grossed out." She sighed. "But to answer your question, I actually only use them when I go swimming."

"Actually, I didn't want to talk about tampons, I only said that to get Harry out of the room. What I really want to talk about is Dean." Ginny was silent for a while. "I don't understand." She said quietly. Hermione took a deep breath before she continued.

"I'll start by telling you what I don't understand. I don't understand why you need to make Dean suffer anymore. I think he's been through enough."

"What?" Ginny asked incredulously. You think he's been through enough?! What about me? I had to spend an entire year watch the person I love fall for a heartless trollop! Dean was just a distraction from that!"

"I know that you have been in love with Harry for a long time, and I know that Dean was just to make Harry jealous, but I don't know why you continue to hurt Dean! He actually cared for you! He still does! Wake up, Ginny! Get your head out of the clouds and back into reality! You need to talk to him! Let him know that he was just a decoy, apologize, settle the tension between the two of you. Please, for the sake of humanity!"

Ginny had stayed silent this whole time. A single tear slipped down her face. "You're right." She said quietly. "I've been awful to him. I guess I was just so hung up on Harry, that I didn't care who I hurt along the way. The only reason I picked Dean was because he's one of Harry's roommates. Dating Ron obviously would have been wrong, Seamus is a little too man-whorish, and Neville was- actually, Neville wouldn't have been too bad, but I don't think he would have made Harry jealous." Ginny gave a wry smile. Hermione knowingly giggled.

"Actually, Harry was very jealous! He wanted to go with you after Cho rejected him, but you were already taken. Ron told me that later that night Harry said he had wished he had asked you earlier."

"Really?"

"Yes. Now, come on, let's go get dinner before Ron eats it all!" Hermione looped her arm through Ginny's and the two of them walked out of the common room.

"So, are you actually going to talk him?" asked Hermione. "Cause if you aren't, then that whole conversation just went to waste!"

"Don't worry, I'll talk to him. Right after dinner, I promise."

_A/N Ok, the writer's block has been busted through! I have a really good feeling about this direction, and if you feel like you like it, tell me! If you don't like it, please tell me that as well!_


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N I'm glad you guys like it, I keep getting notifications that people are following and favoring my story! Please tell me exactly what you like about it!_

**Honesty Is The Best Policy**

Ginny was back in the common room, twisting her hands in anxiety. Any minute now, Dean was going to be coming back from dinner, and she was going to have a talk to him. A good to honest talk. She had been sweating bullets ever since she told Harry what she was doing. He had been a little angry when she told him, but when she explained that she felt guilty by treating him this way, he gave his full support. "You're just too good of a person, Gin. How did I deserve you?" He had said, kissing her then heading upstairs. Ginny smiled, he was so sweet. She was still grinning like a Cheshire Cat, (Hermione loaned her Alice in Wonderland) when Dean walked in with Seamus.

"Hi Dean." Dean stopped in his tracks. "Hi."

"Do you have a minute? I want to talk."

"Um, sure." Dean said nervously. Seamus clapped him on the back and bolted upstairs. Dean sat at a chair across from Ginny. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"I wanted to apologize."

"Apologize?"

"Yes. I was absolutely horrible to you, and I wanted you to know why."

"If you're talking about the revenge-

"I don't care about the newspaper article. Honestly, people were going to find out, the article just made it go faster. The only person we were hiding it from was Ron. So, in reality, I should be thanking you." She gave him a weak smile. Dean didn't smile back. There were a few questions he needed answered. Ginny must have sensed this, because she sat back in her chair and tilted her head toward him. Dean sat forward, wondering what he should ask first.

"Why did you really break up with me?"

"Because it wasn't working out. We had nothing in common, there was no spark, and honestly, you're a really bad kisser."

"Ouch." Dean winced. "Sorry, but you wanted the truth. What's next?" Ginny asked patiently.

"Wait, we're not done with this one. I thought you broke up with me because you were in love with Harry! Isn't that why you dumped me?" Ginny sighed. "I guess it's time to tell you everything. Just please don't think badly of me when I tell you." Dean motioned for her to go on.

"Part of what I told you is true; I didn't think there was a spark between us. Actually, I wasn't really expecting a spark to begin with." She swallowed before continuing. "I've kind of been infatuated with Harry for a long time. Like, try six years. I didn't know what to do. After all, this guy was my brother's best friend! I was having trouble having him see me as anything else besides his best's friend's baby sister!"

"Ginny, you need to breathe." Dean said, coming to sit next to her. "Just calm down, breathe, and tell me the rest of your story."

"Well, as a little girl I was incredibly shy around him, and I wanted to get over it, so I asked Hermione for help. She told me the only way to get over him was to date other guys. She said if I focused on something else, I would completely forget about him." She sighed. "It didn't work. I was still completely infatuated with him and there was no way I was going to get over him. So, I came up with a new plan; make him jealous."

"And that's where I came in?" Dean asked. Ginny dropped her he ad, ashamed. "Yes." Dean looked at her, goading her on.

"I decided that the guy to make Harry jealous needed to be someone he was close to. It couldn't be Ron, for obvious reasons. Neville was another obvious no. Harry would never believe I was into Neville; he already knew I was irritated with him for stepping on my toes at the Yule Ball. So, the only other ones left were either Seamus or you. At the time, Seamus was already in a relationship, if you would even call it that." Dean grinned.

"You mean Clarissa? Yeah, she was actually just a dare." Ginny laughed. "Which is why I settled for you."

Dean snorted. "Settled. Nice. Makes me feel a whole lot better."

"I'm sorry, Dean. I shouldn't have thrown myself at you. I only dated you to make Harry jealous, and for that I really am sorry." Dean was silent for a while. Ginny was extremely nervous now.

Dean finally sighed and looked up at Ginny. "What you did hurt me Ginny. I felt myself falling for you, and you just ripped out my heart and threw it to the Giant Squid. In a way, I can't really blame you. I mean, I was sad when you dumped me, but…I can understand why you did it, and I forgive you. And I'm sorry about the Skeeter expose."

"I forgive you." Ginny echoed. They both sat there in awkward silence, not knowing what to do next. It was soon broken by Harry, as he came down the stairs. Dean hurried to get up, but Harry put out his hands to push him back down.

"I wanted to apologize myself. You didn't deserve what I did to you. I'm sorry." Harry held out his hand to Dean, Dean took it without hesitation, and the two boys shook. Dean turned to go back to the dorm, but looked down at Ginny and Harry sitting together on the couch. "I know several other people have said this already, but you guys really are perfect for each other. Just do me a favor."

"Anything." Was Harry and Ginny's immediate answer.

"Invite me to your wedding?" Dean asked, with extreme sincerity. Harry and Ginny looked at each other, blushing redder than a sunburned lobster. "Absolutely." Ginny said. "And Dean?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you for telling me how you really feel."

**Epilogue **

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" The chant rang loud and long. Harry grinned as he took his new blushing bride in his arms, dipped her low, and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. The applause grew, along with cheering. Ginny blushed, slipping her arms around her new husband's neck, kissing him back.

It was their wedding day, and they couldn't be happier. They had made it past the war and all the pain and heartache that came along with it. Ginny's heart had been broken when Harry broke up with her, but she pushed on to stay strong for herself and others. After Harry had defeated Voldemort, they had gotten back exactly where they had started off. Ginny finished school, Harry started and finished Auror training, and three years later, they were engaged to be married.

Harry gazed around at his guests. Ron and Hermione were sitting at a table with the rest of his family. Family. That was something Harry now had. He smiled as George slipped a Sneezing Sticky into Percy's slice of cake. He saw Hagrid talking with Xenophilius Lovegood. Neville and Luna were sitting at another table with some of their old classmates. But there was one classmate that he hadn't seen.

"Is he here?" Ginny came up behind him.

"I don't see him anywhere. But we know he was here, he R.S.V.P.'d yes."

"Wait, Harry. I think….there he is." Dean Thomas came walking into view.

"Hey, man." Harry stuck out his hand to Dean, and Dean took it. "Glad you could make it."

"The ceremony was beautiful. It was everything that everyone thought it would be. You guys are perfect for each other." The repeat of his words brought back memories to the three friends. Yes, friends. The three of them had actually become close over the years. Dean had gotten over his heartbrokenness, and had even in fact moved on. He was in a steady relationship with a Muggle girl named Sarah. He had met her at art school, where he attended after graduating Hogwarts. Dean was happy, just as happy as Harry and Ginny were. And to think, they owed all their happiness to Rita Skeeter!

_A/n Yay! Finished my very first long story! Now that I'm done with this one, I can finish Ready. Please tell what you think about my story!_


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